The Saint Louis Billikens and the Wyoming Cowboys meet in college basketball action from the HTC Center on Thursday afternoon.
Billikens Improve To 3-0
The Saint Louis Billikens come into this one looking to improve on their 3-0 start to the year after an 80-71 win over Illinois State last time out. Terrence Hargrove Jr. leads the Billikens in scoring and rebounding with 16 PPG and 6.7 RPG while Sincere Parker has 15.7 PPG with 4.7 RPG. Gibson Jimerson has 15 PPG with 3.7 RPG and 2.7 APG to lead the Billikens in the assist department and to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for Saint Louis up to this point in the season. Tim Dalger also has 9.7 PPG with 5.7 RPG for the Billikens as well this season. As a team, Saint Louis is averaging 85.7 PPG on 46.2% shooting from the field, 40% from three and 70.2% from the foul line this season.
Cowboys Win Back-To-Back Games
The Wyoming Cowboys come into this one on the heels of back-to-back wins following an 80-66 win over Cal Poly in their last matchup. Sam Griffin and Akuel Kot each have a team-high 18.5 PPG to lead the Cowboys in scoring with Kot logging a team-high 5 APG while Griffin has 3 RPG and 3.5 APG. Cam Manyawu has 16 PPG with a team-high 10 RPG to lead the Cowboys on the glass, averaging a double-double per game, and Oleg Kojenets has 10 PPG with 4.5 RPG and 4 BPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Wyoming so far this season. Kobe Newton also has 9.5 PPG and Brendan Wenzel has 9 PPG with 4 RPG and 2.5 APG as well on the year. As a team, Wyoming is averaging 92 PPG on 57.5% shooting from the field, 48.8% from three and 64.6% from the foul line this season.
Chris’ Pick
I have gone back and forth on this game, but I’m sticking with Saint Louis here. If this game was in Laramie at Wyoming, I’d have an easier time making the case for the Cowboys here, but on a neutral floor, the Billikens are better on both ends of the floor and the big thing for me is they don’t turn the ball over, sitting just outside the top-10 in terms of turnover percentage on offense, while Wyoming ranks 273rd in that category. Those extra possessions can end up being the difference and Wyoming also shoots better at the free throw line and between two teams that rely on free throws for a lot of their scoring, I trust the team that’s making theirs at a higher clip. Give me the Billikens here.
